SAN FRANCISCO — The Yankees scored seven runs on Opening Day without hitting a single home run. Aaron Boone wants to see what this lineup can do with a completely different look.
With left-hander Robbie Ray on the mound for the Giants in Friday’s Game 2, Boone indicated he plans to load the Yankees lineup with right-handed hitters. That means significant changes from Wednesday’s starting nine, even though that group produced a 7-0 rout.
It is the kind of early-season test that could reveal just how deep this Yankees roster really is.
Goldschmidt, Rosario and Grichuk expected to enter the lineup
Boone said the Yankees plan to play all of their right-handed options against Ray, the only left-handed starter the team is scheduled to face on this road trip.
That could mean Paul Goldschmidt leading off and playing first base in place of Ben Rice. Amed Rosario would step in at third base for Ryan McMahon. And Randal Grichuk is expected to start in left field, with Cody Bellinger sliding over to center and Trent Grisham moving to the bench.
The Yankees added right-handed balance this offseason for exactly these situations. When a lefty is on the mound, the lineup can flip almost entirely, and Boone is wasting no time putting that flexibility on display.
Opening Day attack showed lineup depth without the long ball
Wednesday’s win was built on contact, baserunning and depth rather than power. The Yankees collected 10 hits, nine of them singles, with Grisham’s two-run triple being the only extra-base hit. They did not hit a home run.
“On a night when we didn’t hit the ball out of the ballpark, we had a lot of good pressurized at-bats,” Boone said. “We can beat you in a lot of different ways.”
Boone pointed to the aggressive baserunning that helped the Yankees capitalize. Giancarlo Stanton scored from second on Jose Caballero’s single to left. Caballero hustled into second when the throw went toward third. Later, Jazz Chisholm Jr. beat out a double play and forced an errant throw that allowed Ben Rice to score from third.
The bottom of the Yankees order drove the five-run second inning that broke the game open, taking the pressure off Aaron Judge, who went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.
Austin Wells, who contributed two hits from the nine hole, pointed to the balance of the lineup as a strength.
“I think you got a lot of different guys with a lot of different abilities,” Wells said. “I think it blends really well and we all feed off each other. Starting with Grisham at the top and working its way down, one through nine, that’s how it played out and it’s been playing out for the last half-year.”
McMahon wants to keep stacking good at-bats
McMahon, who delivered a two-run single in the second inning, may be on the bench Friday against Ray. But his approach on Wednesday was exactly what the Yankees needed from the bottom of the order.
“I think guys were just going up there, doing what the game asked them to do, take their knock and we put a bunch of balls in play, found a couple holes and ended up putting up a good number,” McMahon said. “No easy outs. If we can just keep stacking those good at-bats, hopefully good things like that keep happening.”
The ability to sit McMahon against a tough left-hander and replace him with Rosario is the kind of depth the Yankees built this roster around. It allows Boone to keep the Yankees lefties fresh and match up against opposing pitching on a nightly basis.
Schlittler gets the ball for the Yankees in Game 2
Right-hander Cam Schlittler will start for the Yankees on Friday at 4:35 p.m. ET. The 2025 rookie sensation went 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts after making his major league debut on July 9 last year. His best moment came in the AL Wild Card series against the Red Sox, when he threw eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in a winner-take-all game.
Ray, who earned his second All-Star nod last season, went 11-8 with a 3.65 ERA and 186 strikeouts in over 180 innings for the Giants. He won the AL Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays in 2021. Giants manager Tony Vitello called Robbie Ray “the ultimate gruntmaster” and expressed confidence in the matchup.
“It’ll be good for Robbie to have an opportunity for a punch-back game for us,” Vitello said.
Boone keeping expectations in check
Despite the dominant opener, Boone made clear that the Yankees are not getting ahead of themselves. He called this the week of overreactions and reminded everyone that the season is 162 games long.
“We’ve got a lot to prove,” Boone said. “We’re confident in our ability to have good at-bats and put up runs, but we’re one game into this thing. We’ve still got a long ways to go.”
Friday’s lineup shuffle will be the first real test of that depth. If the Yankees can produce against Ray with a different set of starters, it will validate the Yankees front office’s decision to add right-handed bats this offseason and give Boone even more confidence in his ability to mix and match throughout the year.
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